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Spanish champions Barcelona have more players than any other club still competing for World Cup glory. A total of 10 players are representing Barça in the semifinal stages of this tournament, setting a new club record. The previous was eight in the 2010 semifinals. Barça dominate Spain‘s squad with eight players, including teenage forward Lamine Yamal. They also have new signing Anthony Gordon from England and Jules Koundé of France.…

Diego Maradona Jr., son of the late Argentina legend Diego Maradona, described Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal clash against England as a “special occasion” for his fellow countrymen and by no means an “ordinary game.” England take on the defending champions in Atlanta on Wednesday looking to reach their first World Cup final since 1966 when they lifted the trophy. “My dad wouldn’t see it as a normal game, just another…

Brighton and Hove Albion have completed the signing of Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham, the south coast club confirmed on Tuesday. The Croatian international, who played for his nation at this summer’s World Cup, has joined on a five-year deal with an option for a further year. Sources told ESPN earlier this month that Brighton had agreed a fee of £50 million ($66m) to sign the defender. The deal was made…

Spain winger Lamine Yamal has described the World Cup semifinal against France as “the most important match” in his career. A Euro 2024 champion, Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday, is looking forward to Tuesday’s big game in Arlington, Texas. “Without a doubt, this is the most important match I’m going to play,” the Barcelona star said. “We’re all very excited, especially me. I’m certain it’s going to be a…

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has said that his decision to join Chelsea over Liverpool was “about timings.” The Spaniard, who spent five seasons as a Liverpool player between 2004 and 2009, was appointed as Chelsea boss in May and took charge of his first training session at the club last week. In an interview with BBC Sport, Alonso was asked why he joined Chelsea over Liverpool, who sacked head coach…

United States forward Folarin Balogun has signed with LeBron James’ agency Klutch Sports following a breakout World Cup that elevated his profile on and off the pitch. Klutch, founded by James’ longtime business partner Rich Paul, announced on Monday that Balogun had joined its roster. The agency represents James, Anthony Davis, Jalen Hurts and A’ja Wilson, among a host of elite athletes. Balogun emerged as one of the United States’…

England defender Nico O’Reilly is backing himself to come through the “once-in-a-lifetime” task of marking Lionel Messi and turning his dream of winning the World Cup into reality. O’Reilly has been Thomas Tuchel’s first-choice left-back in the tournament, but his challenge is about to get much harder in Wednesday’s semifinal against Argentina. Messi, 39, is going out in style at his sixth World Cup as his eight goals have fired…

A referee who was dropped from FIFA’s list of officials for this summer’s World Cup has died, the Dutch federation (KNVB) has announced. Rob Dieperink had been selected as a VAR for the tournament in North America but FIFA announced in May it had removed him from the list. The 38-year-old had been arrested by the Metropolitan Police in April, The Athletic reported, but the case was closed without charges…

Captain Harry Kane has dismissed the idea of division in the England squad, insisting there is “complete togetherness” ahead of the World Cup semifinal with Argentina. England booked their place in the last four by grinding out a 2-1 extra-time win over Norway in the extreme Miami heat, with Jude Bellingham hitting back at Thomas Tuchel’s post-match assessment that they had not played well. The Real Madrid star scored twice…

ARLINGTON, Texas — France head coach Didier Deschamps playfully deflected questions about his team’s World Cup favorite status on Monday, choosing instead to praise semifinal opponent Spain and project a “spectacular game” on Tuesday. “They can attack and defend very well,” Deschamps said of Spain. “They only conceded one goal. Luis and myself, we know how to defend well, but with the quality of the two teams offensively we could…